Norway awards 62 offshore exploration licenses to maintain European natural gas production

(Bloomberg) – Norway awarded 62 licenses for exploration acreage in the seas off its coast as Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas strives to maintain production.

Licenses were offered to 24 different companies, with 16 firms presented with operatorships for the permits, the Energy Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. 29 permits are located in the North Sea, 25 in the Norwegian Sea, and 8 in the Barents.

The awards in predefined areas, or APA, is an annual licensing round for the best-known exploration areas on the Norwegian shelf and comprises the majority of the available geographies. Norway is now Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas, replacing Russian flows cut in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine.

“To see such great interest in further exploration activity is very encouraging,” Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in the statement. “This is important for both employment and value creation, as well as for facilitating Norway’s role as a stable energy supplier to Europe.”

Equinor ASA was awarded 39 licenses, while Aker BP ASA received 27 and Var Energi ASA 16. Wintershall Dea was awarded 13 licenses and Poland’s PGNiG Upstream Norway AS 10.